CLIL, an elitist language learning approach?:A background analysis of English and Dutch CLIL pupils in French-speaking Belgium

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) programmes are increasingly popular throughout Europe, but are sometimes accused of inducing a selection bias in the pupil population, both through selection mechanisms of the schools themselves and self- selection of the pupils (and/or their parents). As a result, the outcomes of the CLIL approach may be artificially promoted, and, at the same time, such a selection bias can contribute to an elitist education model, which arguably runs counter to the aims of the approach. This paper looks into a number of background variables of both English and Dutch CLIL learners in Francophone Belgium and compares them to their non-CLIL counterparts. Results from a logistic regression indicate that there is indeed evidence of selection: the socio-economic status of the pupils appears as the main predictor of whether a pupil is in a CLIL or a non-CLIL track, whereas other, more personal, variables such as non-verbal intelligence play a minor (or additional) role. Moreover, Dutch CLIL programmes appear to be more selective than English CLIL programmes in this context. We conclude that CLIL (and particularly Dutch CLIL) in French-speaking Belgium, although a priori open to anyone, is particularly attractive to a socially privileged public

Influence of pH and stirring on the hydrogen production by a pure Clostridium strain.

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Optimisation of culture conditions for biological hydrogen production by Citrobacter freundii CWBI952 in batch, sequenced-batch and semicontinuous operating mode

Investigations were carried out to determine the effect of the pH, the nitrogen source, iron and the dilution rate (h 1) on fermentative hydrogen production from glucose by the newly isolated strain Citrobacter freundii CWBI952. The hydrogen production rate (HPR), hydrogen yield, biomass and soluble metabolites were monitored at 30 C in 100 mL serum bottles and in a 2.3 L bioreactor operated in batch, sequenced-batch and semicontinuous mode. The results indicate that hydrogen production activity, formate biosynthesis and glucose intake rates are very sensitive to the culture pH, and that additional formate bioconversion and production of hydrogen with lower biomass yields can be obtained at pH 5.9. In a further series of cultures casein peptone was replaced by (NH4)2SO4, a low cost alternative nitrogen source. The ammonia-based substitute was found to be suitable for H2 production when a concentration of 0.045 g/L FeSO4 was provided. Optimal overall performances (ca. an HPR of 33.2 mL H2/L h and a yield of 0:83 molH2 =molglucose) were obtained in the semicontinuous culture applying the previously optimized parameters for pH, nitrogen, and iron with a dilution rate of 0.012 h 1 and degassing of biogas by N2 at a 28 mL/min flow rate.Micro-H2 : Production microbiologique d’hydrogène : Etude des processus microalgal et bacterie

Classroom anxiety and enjoyment in CLIL and non-CLIL: Does the target language matter?

This study investigates pupils’ anxiety and enjoyment in the classroom when learning a second or foreign language. The particularity of this study lies in the comparison of two target languages (English and Dutch) in two educational contexts (CLIL and non-CLIL) at different instruction levels (primary and secondary education). While most research on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) focuses on English as a target language, the Belgian context calls for a comparison with the language of the “other” community, in this case Dutch. Data were collected from 896 pupils in French-speaking Belgium through a self-report questionnaire measuring pupils’ anxiety and enjoyment in the classroom, along with background characteristics. Results indicate that while CLIL pupils experience significantly less anxiety than their non-CLIL counterparts, English learners report significantly less anxiety and more enjoyment than Dutch learners. This suggests an important role of the target language for emotional engagement in the classroom and calls for further investigation into the role of target language perceptions. Finally, the interactions with instruction level reveal that while primary school pupils report stronger emotions, the effects of CLIL and English are much larger at secondary level

Nederlands in het perspectief van uitspraakverwerving en contrastieve taalkunde

Nederlands in het perspectief van uitspraakverwerving en contrastieve taalkunde (“Dutch from the point of view of pronunciation acquisition and contrastive linguistics”) gives an overview of linguistic research carried out on Dutch by specialists from different parts of Europe. As the title suggests, the book covers two topics: (1) recent developments in the research into the pronunciation of Dutch as a second or foreign language, including research into pronunciation norms and the teaching of pronunciation; (2) recent theoretical and methodological developments in contrastive linguistics providing new insights about various cross-linguistic issues, including translation

Physicochemical And Biochemical Characterization Of Non-Biodegradable Cellulose In Miocene Gymnosperm Wood From The Entre-Sambre-Et-Meuse, Southern Belgium

Specimens of Miocene fossil wood from the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse karsts (southern Belgium) were examined using physicochemical and biochemical techniques in order to understand the reasons for the exceptional preservation of these fossilized remains after 15 million years. Structural and chemical changes were assessed by comparing the structural features of the fossil samples with those of their modern counterpart, Metaseguoia. Solid state C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and microscopic analysis showed good preservation of the cellulose structure in the fossil wood from the Florennes peat deposit. Despite the substantial cellulose fraction available in the fossil tissue, an enzymatic degradation test and a biochemical methane potential assay showed that the fossil cellulose could not be degraded by cellulases and anaerobic microorganisms usually involved in the biodegradation of organic matter. Moreover, the cellulose structure (crystallinity and surface area) seemed to have no effect on cellulose biodegradability in these Miocene fossil wood samples. On the basis of our observations, we suggest that the presence of a modified lignin structure could greatly influence cellulose preservation/biodegradability

Genome-wide transcriptional analysis suggests hydrogenase- and nitrogenase-mediated hydrogen production in Clostridium butyricum CWBI 1009

[en] Background: Molecular hydrogen, given its pollution-free combustion, has great potential to replace fossil fuels infuture transportation and energy production. However, current industrial hydrogen production processes, such assteam reforming of methane, contribute significantly to the greenhouse effect. Therefore alternative methods, inparticular the use of fermentative microorganisms, have attracted scientific interest in recent years. However thelow overall yield obtained is a major challenge in biological H2 production. Thus, a thorough and detailedunderstanding of the relationships between genome content, gene expression patterns, pathway utilisation andmetabolite synthesis is required to optimise the yield of biohydrogen production pathways.Results: In this study transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of the hydrogen-producing bacterium Clostridiumbutyricum CWBI 1009 were carried out to provide a biomolecular overview of the changes that occur when themetabolism shifts to H2 production. The growth, H2-production, and glucose-fermentation profiles were monitoredin 20 L batch bioreactors under unregulated-pH and fixed-pH conditions (pH 7.3 and 5.2). Conspicuous differenceswere observed in the bioreactor performances and cellular metabolisms for all the tested metabolites, and theywere pH dependent. During unregulated-pH glucose fermentation increased H2 production was associated withconcurrent strong up-regulation of the nitrogenase coding genes. However, no such concurrent up-regulation ofthe [FeFe] hydrogenase genes was observed. During the fixed pH 5.2 fermentation, by contrast, the expressionlevels for the [FeFe] hydrogenase coding genes were higher than during the unregulated-pH fermentation, whilethe nitrogenase transcripts were less abundant. The overall results suggest, for the first time, that environmentalfactors may determine whether H2 production in C. butyricum CWBI 1009 is mediated by the hydrogenases and/orthe nitrogenase.Conclusions: This work, contributing to the field of dark fermentative hydrogen production, provides amultidisciplinary approach for the investigation of the processes involved in the molecular H2 metabolism ofclostridia. In addition, it lays the groundwork for further optimisation of biohydrogen production pathways basedon genetic engineering techniques.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Novel formulations of oral bisphosphonates in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Oral bisphosphonates are a key intervention in the treatment of osteoporosis and in reducing the risk of fragility fractures. Their use is supported by over 3 decades of evidence; however, patient adherence to oral bisphosphonates remains poor in part due to complex dosing instructions and adverse events, including upper gastrointestinal symptoms. This problem has led to the development of novel oral bisphosphonate formulations. Buffered, effervescent alendronate is dissolved in water and so seeks to reduce upper gastro-intestinal adverse events, and gastro-resistant risedronate aims to reduce the complexity of dosing procedure (e.g. fasting prior to consumption) whilst still maintaining the efficacy of fracture risk reduction. Clinical trials and real-world data have been employed to demonstrate some benefits in terms of reduced upper gastro-intestinal adverse events, adherence, persistence and health economic outcomes. This report describes the result of an ESCEO (European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis) expert working group, which explores where oral bisphosphonates sit in current clinical practice guidelines, review their risk-benefit profile and the consequences of poor adherence before exploring novel oral bisphosphonate formulations and their potential clinical and health economic impact. Further research is required but there are signs that these novel, oral bisphosphonate formulations may lead to improved tolerance of oral bisphosphonates and thus, improved adherence and fracture outcomes